As I was looking through the buttons, I was reminded of one of my earliest writings done in 2005, and decided to look it up. Amazing the lessons one can get from a simple button or two!
08/20/05 Button, Button
As
children we used to play a game called “Button, Button, Who’s Got
the Button”. We would sit in a circle with one person in the
middle. The children in the circle would pass a button between
themselves, and the one in the middle would try to guess where the
button ended up. To me, buttons were fascinating things. My mother
had a box of buttons, with every size, shape and color imaginable.
She taught me how to sew buttons onto a long strip of cloth and it
would keep me occupied for hours.
Recently
I have noticed a new trend in buttons. As I was shopping in my
favorite women’s clothing store, I found the designers have been
using buttons not only in the traditional way, but also as
interesting decorations on the outfits. One blouse in particular
caught my eye and I ended up purchasing it. It buttoned down the
front with round buttons as a traditional blouse does. Then, all
around the bottom hem, it was decorated with an assortment of buttons
of all shapes and sizes. There were round, square, heart and
flower-shaped buttons, some smooth and some textured.
God
used this blouse to teach me a simple lesson in how to share His love
with the world around me. The buttons down the front reminded me of
the traditional ways God used to instruct me. He provided me with
parents who brought me to church and Sunday School. I remember going
to Vacation Bible School, Bible Camp and hearing lessons from a
child’s devotion book. When I had my own children, this same book
was read to them and recently Rebekah found it and asked to have it
in her home to teach a new generation.
But
what about the other buttons? What lesson did they teach me? God
showed me sometimes His lessons come in nontraditional ways. He uses
a team of children who give up their usual summer activities to
travel and share God’s love through puppets, gymnastics and song.
He uses websites on the Internet to bring daily lessons to millions
around the world. He gives someone the insight to create a program
for secular television to reach a lost and dying generation. (See
Liveprayer.com) Just today I read in the Minot Daily newspaper about
a group who has created a traveling Bible School to minister to
communities in North Dakota and South Dakota
Each
of these new ways of ministering has something in common. It
requires a new way of approaching the Gospel and how it is shared.
Just as the assortment of buttons decorates the bottom of my blouse,
these new ways of sharing God’s Word and His love decorate our
world with a fresh and exciting look at the things God has in store
for His people.
When
I think about all the buttons that have been a part of my life, I am
thankful for the traditional ones. Buttons that secured blouses,
pants, dresses and coats over the years. I’m also thankful for the
fun buttons, the ones in my mother’s button box that provided me
with entertainment in my youth. It required thinking “outside the
box” on my mother’s part to come up with a simple way to teach me
how to sew buttons (and at the same time keep me busy and out of her
hair!)
In
a greater way I am thankful for the many ways in which God has taught
me about His love and forgiveness. I am thankful for the ways He has
been using to challenge me to “think outside the box” of
tradition and bring His lessons to the everyday world around me. Our
greatest example is the life of Jesus. Take time this week to read
from the Gospel lessons of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the Bible,
which outline the life and teachings of Jesus. Notice how often He
met people where they were at, yet challenged them to “Go and sin
no more” after their lives were changed because of their encounter
with Him. And each time you see a button, remember how God is at
work to hold our lives together!
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